/// Blog Archive

30 Jun / 2010

During the month of May we had Johan and Bets from The Netherlands enjoy a few days diving with us at Two Fish Divers Lembeh. They had spent lots of time in Bunaken practicing their ‘wide-angle’ photography and so were excited about being in Lembeh to get some macro shots as well!

This Coconut Octopus was feeling a little down when he had lost his coconut but when he came across this jar, he decided that coconuts were not necessary anymore for him!! In Lembeh we often see Octopeds using anything that they can get their arms on to hide in – wood, bottles and cups!!

These Orangutan Crabs (Achaeus japonicus)look to be having fun bouncing around on this Bubble Coral. Orangutan crabs are small spider crab that can be found also in soft corals and red algae. As you can probably guess the body is covered with long red, orange or purple hair for camouflage.

The beautiful specimen is a Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera elegans). They are rarely seen due to the fact they only tend to leave the shelter of their crevice to find a unsuspecting starfish for their next meal. They look all pretty and nice but they keep the starfish alive as long as possible by eating the legs first and leaving the central disk for their final feast!!

Thank you again Johan for sending these and all the others through to us, we really enjoyed looking at them! Next time you come, you can do a presentation to other guest with our new projector and screen!!

17 May / 2010

Cara Tobie stayed with us here at Two Fish Lembeh for two weeks during March and April. She has sent in the awesome photos to prove that you can take some great pictures ‘just’ with a small ‘point and shoot’ camera.

She has captured a couple of great images of how the crabs here in the Lembeh Straits will use anything from plastic bags to soft anemones to help camouflage themselves from predators!!

Another example of some ‘strange’ behaviour here in the Lembeh Strait, is this

Emperor Shrimp catching a ride on the back of this Ceratosoma tenue. This is a commensalistic relationship – the shrimp gets a free ride and protection predators will stay away from the toxic nudibranch and the nudibranch isn’t affected in any way by its presence. It is thought that the shrimp does earn ‘its ride’ by removing any small parasites from the nudibranch. Another great image!

Thank you again Cara for sending these through, it was great having you stay with us!

02 May / 2010

After the previous post about sending us your photos, we received some from Tom Prideaux, who stayed with us here in Lembeh for nearly two weeks at the end of March. This was his and his wife’s second stay with us and we believe that they are probably already planning their next visit to Two Fish!!

The Spiny Devilfish ( Inimicus didactylus) is often referred to as the Devil Stinger. This species belongs to the ‘stonefishes’ family Synanceiidae which have extremely venomous dorsal fin spines that cause immense pain if touched. They camouflage themselves well in Lembeh by burying themselves in the sand! You can occasionally see them ‘walking’ on their pelvic ‘fingers.

The Painted Frogfish (Antennarius pictus) can be found in a variety of habitats ranging from sandy bottoms to camouflaging themselves with the mooring lines! They can vary greatly in colour from black to pink. There is a great chance of seeing them with us at many of the sites here in the Lembeh Straits!

Another common but very beautiful inhabitant of The Straits is the Ornate Ghost Pipefish ( Solenostomus Paradoxus). These pipefish tend to remain in a fairly restricted area ( we still have one living on our house reef!) and are more often encountered in a male/female pair.

Thank you so much Tom for sending these through, we look forward to seeing some of Karen’s videos!!!

If any one has videos that they would like to post, please contact us with the link and then we can blog it for you so that everyone can see your good work!! helen@twofishdivers.com

19 Apr / 2010

We are always interested in viewing our guests photos and videos that they take whilst they are here with us at Two Fish Divers Lembeh. We also really appreciate them being sent through to us so that we can share them with everyone else!

Johnny Leffelaer from Belgium sent us through some of his fantastic photos… Here is a little information on each of the fish!

Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) tend to live in sandy & rubble shallows and are most active during the day. Its appeal to divers is seeing the beautiful colour changes. Its normal colour is dark purple/brown but it can quickly change to a pattern of black, white, with yellow patches around the mantle, arms, and eyes. The flesh of this cuttlefish is poisonous, containing a unique toxin.

The Pegasus Sea Moth (Eurypegasus Draconis) is one of my favourite things to see here in Lembeh – they look so adorable ambling along the rubble bottoms in their pair! They are a relative of the seahorse family & they tend to feed on small crustaceans hiding in the sand.

Johnny captured a fantastic image of the Leafy Filefish ( Chaetodermis penicilligera). You tend to find these guys alone on sheltered reef or weedy covered bottoms. It gets its name from the green and yellow patches on its body.

Thank you again to Johnny for the photos and once again we like to receive photos, so please send us your best images to helen@twofishdivers.com .